distinctiveness

Meaning: In Kelley's covariation model of attribution, observers judge whether behavior has a dispositional (internal) cause or a situational (external) one using three cues. Distinctiveness asks whether the person acts this way only toward this particular situation or stimulus, or across many. Behavior limited to one situation is high in distinctiveness and tends to be attributed to the situation; behavior across many situations is low in distinctiveness and tends to be attributed to the person. The other cues are consensus and consistency.

On the MCAT: A passage describes a behavior plus information about other situations, other people and other occasions, and you choose the likely attribution. Example: Maria praises a film. If she praises only this film (high distinctiveness), most viewers praise it (high consensus) and she praises it each time (high consistency), the film is the cause. If she praises nearly every film (low distinctiveness), few others praise this one (low consensus) and she does so repeatedly, the cause is Maria.

Common confusion: Distinctiveness compares one person across different situations. Consensus compares different people in the same situation; consistency compares one person in the same situation over time. Distinctiveness does not mean the person is unusual.